Livin' la vida loca like I've got 4 weeks left in the UK

Two nights in a row on the tiles. It was my manager Sally's birthday so we all went out for a drink after work on Friday and ended up grooving away on the dance floor.



Saturday day was a cultured affair as Weeze and I educated ourselves at the Tate Modern, admiring the works of two pioneers of Modernism, Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy . Later that night we relaxed our minds and exerted our bodies on the dance floor with Heilam who's visiting with Pete for an excellent night at G.A.Y. Haven't got any photos to show for our efforts, but let me assure you it wasn't difficult to have fun that night. Missing the old clubbing days with Heilam and the boys and girls back home (you know who you are!).

Finally as it is the trend with most of my posts, we will visit the meal of the week, which is...

MARINATED CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

TERIYAKI SALMON

VEGETABLES WITH OYSTER SAUCE

SERVED ON A BED OF JASMINE RICE

WELL DONE MISS CORRINNE!!!

Easter Beaster Part 2

Sculpture by Dame Barbara Hepworth, in her own garden now a museum.

Sunday - tour of Cornwall via hired car part 2. Land's End, the very southern tip of the UK was a landmark we can say we've been. And Penzance, led us to Marazion which is a small village that looks across the waters at St Michael's Mount, a castle from the 14th century which becomes an island at high tide. We found a small boutique hotel with views to the Mount and had lovely cream tea.



That evening we drove back to Newquay and found the perfect spot to watch the sun set. It was around 8.30pm when the sun fell to the horizon. I think it was worth waiting for.



Monday - return to Bath via hired car. Return to London via train. The opinion that was voiced most that day was the speed at which our weekend seem to disappear at. We saw much of South-East England and despite the hours spent in a car between places I think we all had a good if tiring time. Happy Easter everyone.

Easter Beaster Part 1

Friday - depart for Bath via train. 1 hr 40 mins. Check into hostel, then go for lunch at the fine establishment of The Moon and Sixpence. I ordered a marinated tuna steak that was served on a bed of couscous by a friendly waitress from Sydney. The tuna was cooked to perfection - slightly pink in the middle. Compliments to the chef who, if English, had been trained unexpectedly well. Harsh views? Perhaps. But if the waitress had been instructed to explain that the fish is meant to be cooked that way to the clientele then this speaks volumes of the food knowledge of the general English population, does it not?

After our satisfactory meal we took a constitutional turn about Bath. A drive through the countryside was then taken upon and with mirth we arrived at Longleat. Longleat House, built 1580 is a stately home currently of the 7th Marquee of Bath. Not only does it sit within 8000 acres of land, Longleat is also a safari park, the first of its kind outside of Africa.



Saturday - depart for Padstow via hired car. Approx 4hrs. Our next engagement was something I was dearly looking forward to. Lunch at Rick Stein's restaurant, St Petroc's Bistro. He is a well-known and well-regarded seafood chef whose love for Padstow, Cornwall has been transferred to myself now that I've tasted his food and seen how small and sweet a fishing village it was.

That evening we made our way to our B&Bs in Newquay, the place to surf in England. The Walkabout Pub at Newquay was reported to me to have a grand view of the sea from its premise, so I followed the advice of a colleague and encouraged the girls to join me for a bite and drink. It doesn't compare to North Bondi RSL (which was what I had in mind), but it was nice enough.

Sunday - tour of Cornwall via hired car. My favourite village in Cornwall will have to be St Ives. The village is utterly charming with its small narrow streets, galleries and their artist-in-residence on almost every street, and combined with small but picturesque beaches makes for a very peaceful and restful place to be. Dame Barbara Hepworth, a key British sculptor made St Ives her home in 1939 till her death in 1975. Her home and studio is now a museum run by the Tate. It's definitely worth a visit.

The Chicken Made Us Do It

PRE PARTY PEOPLE:

PARTY PEOPLE:





Office Easter Party @ Egg 13th April 2006

History Repeats

No weekend of mine would be complete without some sort of description of some type of meal I had, and this weekend would be no different. I will however spare you the details this time to just say this: Saturday lunch at Gordan Ramsey's at Claridge's (one michelin star).

The seventh sunday before my departure was again a day of historic houses. The first in the leafy, hilly suburb of Hampstead. Fenton House, built in the 1600's, was a home for wealthy people. It was a little bland. But I did feel a little "Pride and Prejudice". The best way to describe it is to liken it to the volunteers at the house that day, little old ladies who were not without charm.

Fenton House, Hampstead - front and back

Carlyle's house was a different story altogether. The numerous personal effects that still remained in the house allowed insight into the lives of the Thomas and Jane Carlyle. This lead me to discover that their marriage was one of 19th century's famous literary unions; he was revered as a literary giant by his peers and followers, and she was socially and intectually established in society (some even believed her letters to be superior to that of her husband's.) Fascinating couple they were. I am intrigued to learn more.

Carlyle's House, Chelsea

Hooray for Oxford Let's Row for Joy

It's that time of the year again when egg heads from two of the world's leading and historic educational institutions decide to have a jolly o' paddle down the Thames together.

Actually it was quite an exciting event to witness, the 152nd Oxford Cambridge Boat Race. The river was lined with spectators, many of which were from the universities (they even wore their school scarves and jackets proudly - the dears). We stood near the start of the race, and managed to withstand the patches of sun, then rain, then sun, then rain, then sun, then rain, then sun for a couple of hours until 4.35pm.

And then they were off!

The crowd roared and we cheered as they passed our vantage point. After about a minute and a half they were already small slivers in the distance. So that's it? Back to the drinks and the big screen which showed Oxford leading all the way to the finish line. Poor Cambridge. I half hoped they would win as they had an Australian captaining the vessel. Oxford had a secret weapon apparently: a pump. Less water was taken on board hence a lighter boat to propel. Only 152 years to figure that one out by the brightest at Oxford.

They were so happy they tossed their cox into the water. I swear they did.